Face 1st (F1st) is the master of getting his work squeezed into just about every corner of Bristol. At any one time, the M32 roundabout must play host to four or five of his pieces, which is pretty impressive really. I would hate to see his monthly spend on spray cans.
Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2018
This is a return to his more ‘traditional’ style of a pretty face incorporated into some beautifully decorated letters which usually spell out FACE, but in this instance I’m not sure about that. It is always great to see work by one of my absolute favourite Bristol artists.
Wowzer…(not a word I use often), what a fabulous piece in The Bearpit from Face 1st. I have to say that I am just loving his development to full body pieces, and that hair…it’s just brilliant.
Face 1st, The Bearpit, Bristol, August 2018
Now I happened to get really lucky a few days back and met Face 1st, Soap and Tasha Bee all at once all for the first time while they were collaborating at the M32 roundabout – more about that in another post. It was such a pleasure to meet Face 1st at last, after three years of posting, and it was rather gratifying and humbling that he had read this blog and even shared some posts with his mother. Watching these guys at work simply inspires me to get out there and start spraying – I would love to be able to do what they do as well as they do it. I guess I need to practice…a lot.
I love, love this piece, and have noticed that he is doing more of these and going big – so much to look forward to.
As an aside – this post is scheduled to publish while I am on an aeroplane bound for Italy…the wonders of modern technology.
Members of the PWA (Pirate Wall Art) crew have been rather active of late, none more so than Face 1st. In this collaboration he is joined by his friend soap and this piece is opposite some writing, featured in an earlier post by Sikoh.
Soap and Face 1st, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2018
When Soap and Face 1st get together, they quite often create one of these vertical collaborations, with the distinctive mouths of Soap on the top and beautiful face underneath by Face 1st.
There are a couple of nice touches on the work. The hair of the girl is made up of wiriting that spells out Face, and forms the lower jaw of Soap’s mouths. There is a little slogan ‘peacefully writin’ art‘, picking up on the crew name. I am always delighted to find work by these two.
A quick one in The Bearpit from Face 1st going back a little. The main reason that I have posted this is because I remember at the time being incenced by the aggressive graffiti cross in the middle of the face with its far right connotations. When I see this kind of disruption, my immediate thought is ‘what kind of idiot would do this?’. I guess I still find myself constantly challenged by this mindless behaviour. I know that pretty much all artists expect this on the street, but it doesn’t necessarily make it right.
Face 1st, The Bearpit, Bristol, January 2018
I don’t think I will ever tire of Face 1st’s work, and I get real pleasure out of each and every piece of his that I find.
When I saw this piece on Face 1st’s Instagram feed, I knew I had to get down to Moon Street straight away to find it. Find it I did, and I think it is probably in my top 3 all time Face 1st pieces.
Face 1st, Moon Street, Bristol, June 2018
There is so much to like – rarely, if ever, have I seen more than a face in any of his characters…and here we have the full body complete with frilly pink knickers. The soft colours and tones contrast wildly with the bold graffiti aurrounding the piece, making it stand out from the crowd – it is nicely framed in the doorway.
Face 1st, Moon Street, Bristol, June 2018
Face 1st has always a productive artist, but recently he appears to have gone into overdrive, and he seems to be collaborating a lot too. I’m not sure where this new lease of life has come from, but whatever the reason I love it.
I love, love, love this collaboration piece by Face 1st and Tash Bee. Totally understated and beautifully sprayed on a concrete column under Brunel Way, this piece is tucked away and pretty much out of view. There is a serenity about the piece that works so very well, and the setting is just a perfect way to frame the piece.
Face 1st and Tasha Bee, Brunel Way bridge, Bristol, June 2018
I don’t know how long these two have been collaborating for, but there have been a spate of their joint pieces cropping up all over the place just recently. For me, this is the best yet. Their use of colour and form is similar, but each has a very distinctive look. The top section is by Face 1st and beneath it is a superb styalized portrait by Tash Bee. I have met neither of these artists, but it I keep looking, it is just a matter of time.
Oooh, I love this one from Face 1st, tucked around a corner in City Road, where I only periodically take a squint at the walls there that don’t change all that often. I’m glad I made the effort as this is Face 1st just how I like him.
Face 1st, City Road, Bristol, May 2018
Great colour selection, and I will never tire of his basic easy-on-the-eye premise of spelling out FACE with his swirls and a white face incorporated somewhere along the way. One of Bristol’s most prolific street artists.
It feels like the PWA crew are really waking up at the moment. Face 1st and Soap have become more active on Instagram, and on the streets they seem to be busy, not only individually but also collaborating. This is a great thing to witness, and I hope this rich streak of form continues.
Soap, Norrisville Road, Bristol, May 2018
This collaboration is a little unusual for me, because I haven’t seen writing from Soap before (look carefully to see SOAP), being much more used to his large mouthed characters. The piece is tucked away down a side road on the St Pauls/Montpelier border, on a wall that had been getting a bit tatty with graff and tags.
Face 1st, Norrisville Road, Bristol, May 2018
Face 1st is of course a favourite of mine and in this work we see his familiar tear drop designs (almost paisley pattern-like) and a face with large appealing eyes.
Face 1st and Soap, Norrisville Road, Bristol, May 2018
This is quite an unusual collaboration in quite an unusual place, but a most welcome find when not really looking for it. It is a pity about the green car parked in front of the piece, which prevented me getting a decent front on photograph, but cars are out there and dodging them is part of the experience.
I have been posting about the work of Face 1st for a long time now, and he really is one of my favourite artists in Bristol. His simple formula of combining the word FACE with a face incorporated never ceases to impress me. I have also noticed that he has started to become active on Instagram, which will help me to keep on top of his work and maybe find out a little bit more about him.
Face 1st, The Carriageworks, Bristol, April 2018
This piece on the Carriageworks in Stokes Croft is from a little while ago, but is one of the last few to be sprayed on this building which is now fenced off as the long awaited (decades) development work on the site has begun. The site was a bit grotty, but part of the character of the area will be lost forever once the graffiti and street art are no longer incorporated. Gentrification is gaining pace in the area.
Since I started wrioting posts about Face 1st, I have been calling him Face F1st…uit is a difficult thing to do once you have a habit, but I will from no on refer to him as Face 1st (which will bugger up my archive searches a little but there you go).
Natural adventures 